Mitch Churi has opened up about the shock and heartbreak of being suddenly axed from the KIIS FM network late last year.
The 29-year-old, who fronted The Pick Up alongside Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne as well as his evening slot The Night Show With Mitch Churi, revealed he was given just three weeks notice that both his shows were being scrapped.
‘Don’t discount how hard it is to be told you’re done, but then turn up to work every day and put on a show and do your best,’ Churi told Stellar magazine, explaining why he decided to finish out his run on air despite the difficult news.
‘To be on a show that gets cancelled is one thing, but to be [axed from] a show your co-workers stay on is another,’ he added.
Rather than glossing over the reality of the situation, Churi said he wanted to be transparent with listeners.
‘There was no other way for me than to just go out there and get real and have no negativity… I’m not the first nor the last this will happen to.’
Mitch Churi has opened up about the shock and heartbreak of being suddenly axed from the KIIS FM network late last year
The 29-year-old, who fronted The Pick Up alongside Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne as well as his evening slot The Night Show With Mitch Churi, revealed to Stellar magazine that he was given just three weeks notice that both shows were being scrapped
While the move came as a blow, Churi insists he has no bitterness towards KIIS FM’s parent company ARN, attributing the decision to finances.
Instead, he credits his decade-long stint in radio with shaping him from a ‘closeted teenager who still lived at home’ into the confident broadcaster he is today.
‘When you think about your life between 19 and 29, what happened? Think of those formative moments,’ he said.
‘I not only had those [years] employed full-time at the same company, but in front of a microphone in front of . To then have it pulled, your whole identity shifts, and my biggest learning has been untying my identity from my job.’
Churi admitted it was initially hard to imagine a life outside of radio.
But he has since found new focus, warning the industry it needs to nurture fresh talent.
Determined to stay in the spotlight, Churi has teamed up with podcast platform Acast to launch a new project.
The Mitch Churi Chat Show will debut on September 10 as both a twice-weekly podcast and YouTube series, with a slate of celebrity interviews already lined up.
‘Don’t discount how hard it is to be told you’re done, but then turn up to work every day and put on a show and do your best,’ Churi told the publication
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Churi made headlines last November when he was brutally dumped from his on-air hosting gig at KIIS FM.
Mitch announced live on-air that he had been informed by KIIS FM management his contract would not be renewed, sending shock-waves across the network.
‘Late last week I was informed by the powers that be that they have identified my role here as one that won’t be returning in 2025,’ Mitch began.
Mitch then revealed he was blindsided by the decision and he wished it had not come to this.
‘I just want to say it wasn’t my decision or my call. I really wanted to stay on the show with you two. I really wanted to stay with KIIS.’
Triple M shows such as The Rush Hour with Gus Worland, Jude Bolton and Aaron Woods and the breakfast show hosted by Mark Geyer and Mick Molloy have also been canned in recent months.
The mass upheaval of Sydney-based radio stations means at least 19 presenters didn’t return to the mics this year.